It was true. He hadn’t wanted to, but maybe that had changed. “It’s all right.” She said.
“Hell no, it’s not, but now maybe that will change. I’m damn happy things are working out for you and Dash. He’s a good man. Proud and stubborn, but smart and understands the value of family.” He sounded so happy for her.
“Yes, he does.” Tess agreed.
“I trussed him up like a Thanksgiving turkey for you and I’m glad I did.”
More blatant satisfaction.
The comparison was unfortunate. She couldn’t imagine Dash in such a scenario at all, nor was she sure that a bit of matchmaking could be likened to trussing someone up, but she didn’t argue with her father. His matchmaking efforts had brought her and Dash together. For that, she could swallow a lot of male self-aggrandizement.
“I guess you did, dad. Thank you,” she said warmly.
“I’m just glad you’re happy, girl.”
“I am.” Very, very happy.
“I called to talk to Dash. I don’t know if he’s been ignoring my calls. Have him call when—”
“That won’t be necessary, I am here.” Dash’s voice said behind her. Tess turned, frowned and then handed the phone to him.
He took it and held it to his ear. “I saw your missed calls, Neal. I have been busy but I just saw and Elena she told me that you were on the phone with Tess so I decided to come talk to you.” He explained his intrusion into the conversation.
“That’s right,” Neal Patchett replied, “I wanted to talk to my daughter too and see how you were treating her.”
There was an odd note in his voice. Tess could hear it as Dash was standing very close to her and the phone was on loudspeaker.
“As she has said, she is happy.” Dash’s tone was flat and emotionless.
She felt like an intruder on their conversation even though she and her father had been talking first, but she didn’t move away and Dash didn’t either.
“I’ll let you two talk business,” she said finally, not liking their tone.
But Dash said nothing as he watched her leave.
Up in their bedroom, she undressed and took a quick shower before pulling on matching lace bra and panties. She was pulling a lavender sheath dress from the closet when Dash walked into the room.
She laid it on the bed and went over to him, expecting a kiss of greeting, but he sidestepped her. “I need a shower.” He said.
“You look wonderful to me.” She smiled.
He looked better than wonderful. In his tailored Italian suit that clung lovingly to the well-developed muscles of his thighs, he looked edible.
He didn’t return her smile. “Like a Thanksgiving turkey all tied up?” he asked grimly.
“You heard that?” she asked.
“Yeah. I heard.” He looked totally unapproachable. “Remember not to put your phone on loudspeaker when you are having such important conversations” he added sarcastically.
Heard and been seriously upset by it, Tess thought.
“Don’t let my father’s analogies annoy you.” She pulled her dress off the hanger and tossed the hanger back onto the bed. “It’s just the way he is.” She said.
“He is blunt.”
She smiled again, this time in relief at his understanding. “Right,” she said as she pulled the dress over her head. “He’s not very tactful, but I think he means well.”
She straightened the dress over her hips.
“When it comes to you, his daughter, there is no doubt of this.”
“You know, I think you’re right.”
It was a novel concept, but one that unraveled some of the pain that had been caused by her father’s rejection throughout her growing-up years. “It feels good to be cared about, to tell you the truth.” She added.
“Regardless of what form that caring takes?” Dash asked, his expression just this side of feral.
She didn’t know what was wrong with him, but then there were still a lot of things about her husband she did not understand.
“We can’t always choose how someone will love us.” She said. Or if they would love you at all, she thought. Her father had certainly done a good job of hiding any affection he felt for her before.
“And you will take whatever form of love he gives, or is it that you are happy to reap the advantage of his desire to give it at all?” Dash asked.
Okay, her father’s comments had been less than flattering to Dash, but surely he wasn’t offended by the older man’s claim at matchmaking. Perhaps his male ego was wounded by the thought of someone interfering in his life like that.
She stepped over to him and laid her hand on his chest. “How we came to be together is not as important as the fact that we are together, is it?” she asked.
“For you, I can see that it is not.” He swung violently away and stormed into the bathroom.
The door shut with an audible click.
Shocked into immobility, she stared at it for the longest time. What in the world had just happened?
Dash’s reaction to the situation was totally over the top. His fury at the discovery that her father’s request he check on her in Athens had been an attempt at matchmaking was disproportionate to the circumstances. Even taking into account that it had been a successful attempt and he might feel somewhat manipulated, was it really so awful?
Dash was a really smart guy. Hadn’t he even suspected ulterior motives when Neal Patchett’s asked for such a personal favor? Especially after that kiss at that party.
One thing became glaringly clear to her as she stood in transfixed stupefaction. If Dash really had loved her, it would not have mattered. His pride would not find such offense in her father’s harmless machinations.
After all, it wasn’t as if Neal had held a gun to Dash’s head and forced him to marry her.
He’d set them up to meet again, but Dash had been the one to pursue her. He had invited her to come to his home, so why was he acting like her father’s actions and her acceptance of them was so heinous? If anything was at fault for their marriage, it was Dash’s desire.
Feeling sick, she realized that was all it was. Desire.
And desire was not the soother of pride that love was. She’d been so sure he was coming to love her, but his reaction tonight showed her how wrong she had been.